Genovesa Islands
The Tower or Genovesa is home to over one million seabirds. Our highlights here were diverse, from Nazca, red & blue-footed boobies and gulls to owls, fur seals, hammerhead sharks, turtles and manta rays. Our adventure began with a walk that starts at the famous Prince Philip’s Steps where we were my colleague Gaby able to find the elusive short-ear owl and save the day. Lucky for us she spotted it hiding from the strong sea-breeze and all of us felt rewarded to have a unique view to only camouflage diurnal raptor.
Back aboard we prepared for our last snorkeling outing in search the undersea realm, today we had close encounters with a few pacific green turtles; seeing them close brought excitement and admiration. After this great adventure, we came back to our ship anchored inside Genovesa Caldera to be briefed about our departure and enjoy our last delicious lunch, pride for our culinary staff.
We were then ready to start off our next adventure, which was a wet landing on a white coralline beach inside Darwin Bay, named by a celebrity visitor, William Beebe, in honor of a great naturalist who re-directed human thought, Charles Darwin. At low tide and over a platform we walked surrounded by birds of all kinds and their chicks. We were moved by so many adult seabirds taking care of their chicks, so they can fend for themselves. We were also happy to find a few marine iguanas which are smaller and darker; as this northern hemisphere island has much different ecology and like a Pitri-dish, different results.
Taking this walk was like being transported back in time. There were birds flying all over, like in prehistoric times, and lava formations resembling the first foundation of Earth. Later, it was time to return to the ship and reminisce about the many experiences of such a wonderful week. As we look back and gaze at the islands for the last time, this place now seems to be timeless to us. It is now deep within our hearts and our experience has been unforgettable on these special islands, where the wildlife that has no fear and allows us to realize that we are not so different.
“We must not acknowledge the methodical saying ‘don’t humanize the animals’ but instead ‘animalize the human’ by perceiving our surrounding with all our senses; embracing nature by coexistence and respect for one another, so we can become one with nature as we once were.”
We have all bonded like a family, united by this invisible mysticism. At the end of our journey we hope to stay in touch. The experience our guests had this week will stay with them for a lifetime.
